Packing for axle boxes and bearings



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANCIS RIKER AND HENRY DENNIS, OF BERGEN BOINT, NEW JERSEY.

PACKING FO'R AXLE BOXES AND BEARINGS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 239,549, dated March29,

Application filed October 2'7, 188 (No specimens.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, FRANCIS BIKER and HENRY DENNIS, of Bergen Point,inthe county of Hudson and State of New Jersey, have invented certaiunewand useful Improvements in Packings for Axle Boxes and Bearings; and wedo hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it pertains to make and use it.

Our invention relates to an improvementin packings for axle boxes andbearings; and it consists in the use of the flesh which is scraped orotherwise removed from the hides of animals, either before or after thehides have been tanned, in connection with suitable oils or lubricantsof any kind which can be absorbed by the flesh, as will be more fullydescribed hereinafter.

The object of our invention is to do away with the cotton-waste andother such material as has heretofore been packed in thejournal-boxesfor the purpose of absorbing thelubrican t, and which packing, afterhaving been.

used for some length of time, has either to be renewed or it willignite, and to substitute therefor an elastic non-inflammable packingwhich will absorb the oil very freely and keep the journalsconstantlylubricated without the slightest danger under anycircumstances.

We take hides which are in a raw, cured, salted, or tanned state, andscrape from their inner sides the flesh which is adhering to them,

and which is known as flesh-waste. This flesh-waste, when dried, absorbsoil and greasy substances of all kinds, and holds it with such tenacitythat even when saturated it will not allow the oil to drop off. Thisflesh-waste is very elastic, so that it tends to always press upwardagainst the axle, so as to hold the oil in constant contact therewith,and is absolutely non-combustible. Being non-combustible and elastic, itwill not ignite, even after having been in use for some length of time,but will simply wear away by frictional contact with the journal afterthe oil has become exhausted. To such an extent is this wastenon-inflammable that even when heat is applied to it when dry the wastewill simply shrivel up, but not ignite. I

We do not. limit ourselves to one particular lubricating compound whichis to be used in connection with this waste, for many diifereult kindsof oil can be used equally well.

We have found that any lubricating com, pound, whet-her made frompetroleum, fish, oisperm oils, or any combination of oils, may be used,as all that is necessary is, that the flesh} waste should be immersed inthe lubricant, and then the elastic waste will feed it to the axles.

In actual practice we use several grades off oil for different kinds ofwork. The slower the speed the lower the grade of oil, and the higherthespeed the higher the grade of oil. Where, the waste is firstmoistened with being placed in the box or bearing, the waste feeds theoil equally as well, and thus no oil [L. s.] [n s.]

water before,

